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In discussing this post, I came to feel more strongly about how the pace is accelerating, but in grad school it's easier to have a clear perspective.I n undergrad I was way more susceptible to these forms of distraction, but now, dare I say I can *focus* on lectures.

To me it’s kind of like I was on the autopilot track of do A,B,C then I will get a good job. Now that I know I will be able to get a god job, and realize most good jobs are bogus, I am happier when I actually get to engage with the material. The act of learning is super rewarding.

I am sure this is all part of a bigger arc of my life. While I am swamped with deadlines right now for grad school, I look forward to when I can write more and read more again (although, did just finish the Pillars of the Earth  and In Praise of Shadows — recommend both while the first is a marathon and the second is an essay).

I feel like years ago, there was less of a treadmill effect for students. Now, it may be only at smaller liberal arts schools and stuff that there is enough of an atmosphere to remove that effect. At Berkeley it isn’t a treadmill, it’s a hysteria. I can’t handle most of the undergrads — I had one cold email me asking for research, then when I told him to read he concluded “I will have a substantial impact on your research” having never met me, and being a sophomore. Dude! The point is me to teach you how to do things and enjoy watching you develop, they just want to be a cog in the machine.

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